Dan sat in the driver's seat of the transport. Each of them had an open comm link. It was a precaution in case they got separated. It was hidden on their bodies so that if they were captured, it wouldn't be found right away.

Carefully, Hope got into the passenger seat with help from her mate, Seeran.

Seeran's body was stiff. He was unhappy that Hope was going out without him to confront her brother. He knew it was too dangerous for her, and she was too fragile. There had been no time to recover from her ordeal. If something happened to Dan when they arrived at the trap, she wouldn't be able to run if she were being chased. She would be as good as captured or dead.

Once Hope was settled, Dan slowly drove the transport out through the East entrance, heading for the barrier where Travis and the bulk of his men were trapped.

Travis's eyes zoned in on the transport, his eyes narrowing in anger as he looked at Dan. Hope gasped, whispering to Dan, "Why do I see hate in his eyes, Danny? He looks like he hates you."

Dan reached over and carefully grasped her hand, stroking the back of it with his thumb. "I deserted him to come here. I told you that. He hates me for deserting him. Your mate is an alien. He might hate you for that. Be prepared."

Hope nodded, staring at her brother, Travis. His eyes were locked on Dan; he didn't see his passenger. Not that he would be able to recognize her; she was so fragile at the moment.

Dan stopped the transport only a few feet from the barrier and got out. He quickly went around to the other side and carefully lifted Hope out of the transport. He didn't want her to get hurt. She was so fragile that bumping her into the side or going too quickly could injure her further.

"I want to walk on my own, Danny," she whispered, using his full first name. She was the only one who had ever called him by it. Everyone else called him Dan.

Dan gently set her feet on the ground and took her hand. "Use me as support. Okay, Hope."

Hope didn't say anything in response; she just started heading slowly to the barrier, taking Dan with her.

Travis's eyes moved from Dan to Hope, his eyes widening in shock at seeing who Dan's passenger was for the first time.

"Hope?" Travis asked. His voice was thin with shock.

Hope stopped right in front of her brother, Travis. Dan stood beside her, Hope's hand still grasped to his for support. "You're hurting people I care about, Travis," she said quietly. She knew that in the past, she was his only weakness. Out of all the horrible things he has ever done, she was the only one who wasn't subjected to it.

"Who did this to you?" Travis interrupted her. Worry washed through his features as he scanned her fragile figure. It was thin and skeletal. She appeared weak; so delicate that a simple movement could shatter her bones like thin porcelain.

"I nearly starved. Zombies were outside where I was hiding, and I couldn't leave to get supplies. When a search team found me, I was brought here and saved. They saved me, Travis. If they hadn't, I'd be dead by now." Hope told him, pleading with him to understand.

Travis gritted his teeth in anger. His jaw clenched so tightly that soft popping could be heard. "If it weren't for them, this would have never happened in the first place. They did this to you. They caused this!" The information was only making the situation worse.

Hope sighed. "The one who did everything to us is dead. The current leader is doing what he can to fix this. He's trying to save as many of us as he can find. They're even looking for a cure for the zombies," Hope told her brother, leaving out the fact that her own blood was the key to finding it.

"I don't care!" Travis spat, trying to keep his anger at bay, not wanting to yell at his little sister.

Hope wiped a stray tear from her eyes. "One of them is my mate," she said quietly. It was the moment of truth. She knew what he said next would determine what would happen next. It would also reveal what he would do to her if he got his hands on her. He knew how he was...really was.

Travis took a step back in horror at her words. "You let one of them touch you?" he hissed, his face turning purple with anger. "They killed everyone!" His horror was replaced by disgust, then anger as he spoke.

"Their previous leader did that. I love my mate. I know he loves me. Please stop your attacks; please," she begged. "Please...please stop attacking."

Travis looked at Dan, not wanting to look at his sister for what he had learned. He was disgusted that she had a mate who was an alien. The thought made him want to vomit. "And you're a traitor. You left to go to THEM!" he yelled. His anger turned to rage. His eyes pierced Dan like daggers. Hate in his eyes.

"You tried to feed their flesh to us. I cannot be a part of that," Dan told him. "You were once family to me, more like a brother. You changed, and not in a good way. You planned on chaining up all the remaining human females so that they could be repeatedly raped by anyone who wanted to. How could you do that? Would you let someone touch your sister like that?" he asked, trying to appeal to Travis's family bond.

Travis looked at Hope and then at Dan. "She let one of them touch her. She is nothing to me," he sneered. "She can be chained like the rest of them."

Travis's words made Hope flinch. Tears poured freely down her thin cheeks. "Your hate is overwhelming, Travis," she whispered. "I am sickened by you. You are no longer my brother. I will do nothing more to try to save you," she whispered. Bending toward Dan, he gently pulled her close. Her head rested on his chest as she sobbed quietly, grieving for the last bit of family that she had.

"Your sister is more my sister than yours," Dan stated. "You have an opportunity to have some of your family back, but you're throwing it away, blinded by your hatred. I will not let her suffer your presence any longer. I'm taking her back."

Dan gently lifted Hope into his arms as she continued to sob quietly, carried her to the transport, and set her in the passenger seat. He quickly went around to the driver's seat and entered it himself. He was trying to hurry. There was tension in the air. He could feel the tension rising; they were preparing to attack.

Turning the transport around, he kept his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror. Scanning Travis's men, he didn't just feel it; he saw something was about to happen. He needed to get Hope out of there.

"I don't know who is listening right now, but the ones outside the barrier are about to attack. Protect Hope," he said into the comm link. Then turned to Hope. "I need you to lie down as low as you can. They are about to start shooting, and I don't want you to get hit."

Hope leaned over, laying her head in Dan's lap. He bent down, trying to make himself a smaller target, and floored the transport.

He drove, making zigzags, trying to make it hard for them to find their target. Shots suddenly rang out, hitting the dirt on either side of the transport. Dirt sprayed up from each bullet as it hit the ground.

Pain suddenly shot through his shoulder. The feeling of hot liquid pouring down his side followed. He had been hit twice. At least once on the shoulder and once on his side. He tried to ignore the pain, driving the transport as quickly as he could to the dome's entrance.

"I'm hit," he said to whoever was listening through the comm link. "I am going straight for the opening at the gate. Someone needs to get Hope out of here as soon as I enter," he stated. He could feel himself getting weaker and colder from the loss of blood.

The gate flew open, and Dan sped through, coming to a sudden stop. Behind him, the gate closed. The medic stood by with a gurney. As soon as the gate closed, the medic rushed up and pulled Dan onto a gurney and rushed to the clinic.

Seeran lifted his mate out of the transport. Blood dripped from her side. Feeling the heat of her blood, he ran full speed to the clinic, trying to get help. The medic had left with Dan, not knowing that she was bleeding too.

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